Applying for support

You will be asked to describe the situation that you have or are continuing to experience, along with the start date and the end date of the situation if it is not still ongoing.

You should describe the events that you have experienced from beginning to end, or up until the submission of your application. 

After you have described your situation select a start date (if you do not know what the exact start is you can select an approximate date) for when it began, or when the impact of an ongoing issue increased. 

Keep your statement clear and concise. If there are multiple events or factors to describe, either go through them in chronological order or separate them under different headings.

You can select a category of special circumstances (e.g. mental ill-health). If your situation falls into more than one category, select the category that is most relevant and use the Notifying Us and Impact Statement (step 3) sections to explain your situation in more detail.

What do I do next?

The ESC Team will review your application and the details of your situation. You will recieve a response from the ESC Team within 2 working days which will inform you if the situation you have submitted is eligible for support.

After submitting your application in step 1 you will be returned to the application landing page where you can continue to step 2.

Note: You must select the assessments that were affected by your situation before you can receive an extension. If the ESC Team do not have this information they cannot provide you with an extension.

You will be presented with a list of courses that you are currently enrolled on.   

When you select a course you will be asked to confirm if the support you require is for an assessment or a reassessment.  

Should I select assessment or reassessment?  

Assessment  

If this is the first time you are submitting an assessment or sitting an exam then you should select assessment.  

Reassessment 

If you have already completed an assessment and/or sat an exam or if you have been approved for an exam resit or resubmission of a piece of coursework and wish to apply for support for those, then select reassessment support.

You will see a list of all assessments and/or exams that are required as part of your course.   

If your school has created the reassessment or resit information then you will be able to select it from the list.  

Reassessments will not have the due date displayed as first time assessments do because they are not always known. 

What if my reassessment is not displayed? 

If your school has not created the reassessment or resit information then you will need to manually enter the information for the reassessment or exam you wish to apply for support on.  

You can do this by selecting the Add reassessment button. 

Enter the name of your reassessment and the date which it is due or resat if it is an exam and then save. 

Your school should have communicated the information you need to complete this step but if you do not have it you can contact your school and they will provide it to you. 

The reassessment will then be displayed on your list of assessments to choose from. 

You can remove the reassessment information if you made a mistake entering the information. 

Once you add a reassessment you can then apply for support on it just like any other assessment. 

How do I select a support type?

Once you select an assessment or reassessment you will be asked to choose if you want to apply for a coursework extension or a special circumstance.  

Not all assessments will have the option of a coursework extension.

Some assessments like field trips or lab tests are not able to be retaken and you cannot apply for a coursework extension on an exam.

Where a coursework extension is not available, you will have the option to apply for a special circumstance.

The requirements for applying for a special circumstance are different from those of applying for a coursework extension and you will need to complete further steps of the application and provide additional information (see process overview at top of page).   

If you are not sure if the situation you are experiencing qualifies for a special circumstance you can find more information here:

Special Circumstances explained

Once you have selected your assessments you can review your choices on the course selection screen.

Note: The revised due date on the course selection screen is informational only. You must submit your selection before any revised due date can be given.

 

Take care to ensure that you are applying for the correct support as you are not able to edit your selection once you have submitted it.  

If you need to apply for support on other assessments within this course after you have submitted your selection you will need to complete and submit a new application. 

What do I do next?

The ESC Team will review your submitted selection and provide a response within 2 working days which will inform you if you have been given the extension to the assessment(s) you have submitted.

You will be able to track the progress of your decision in your application dashboard.

Impact statement 

You need to explain how the events of the situation you described in Step 1 impacted your studies. We need to know how these events affected your capacity to study and how this impacted the quality and/or ability to submit your assessment on time, if you have submitted it at all.  

You should be clear and specific - If you have multiple events affecting multiple circumstances, you should describe how each assessment was individually affected, whether you submitted and if it was late.  

A well-outlined impact statement will help the Board of Examiners make the best decision on how to support you academically.

Outcome preferences

You will have the opportunity to state a preferred outcome if your application is successful, such repeating your assessment or resitting your exam. 

You can also choose that the Board of Examiners makes a decision for you that offers you the quickest outcome available. 

You should ensure that you are fully aware of the implications that repeating an assessment or exam could have.

• Delaying the completion of your studies may affect your funding  - either payment of fees, loans, or maintenance grants 

• Returning to study in another academic session may impact your accommodation arrangements such as exemptions from council tax. 

• If you have a visa that allows you to study in the UK, you should seek advice to ensure you're aware of that the effect that any delay to the completion of your studies may have with regard to visa restrictions. 

If you are unsure of the implications of selecting an outcome preference then you should contact your school for further information. You can also contact The Advice Place where you will receive independent advice.  

Staff at The Advice Place will be able to explain in more detail any possible implications and offer independent advice.

Please note that there is no guarantee that you will receive your preferred outcome.  

What do I do next?

The ESC Team will review your impact statement and outcome preference.

Note: You will need to complete step 4 of the application process before the ESC Team can decide if your request is valid.

 

All special circumstances applications will need to be supported by evidence.  

When students cannot provide medical evidence for special circumstances, they can instead provide a statement from a staff member, and/or a self-certification form about their ill- health.

If you do not have the evidence you need to support your application, but you will have evidence later you can save and exit and return to your application when you do. 

If you submit your application without evidence and evidence is required, you can email your evidence to escteam@ed.ac.uk.

How can I reduce my file size?

The maximum file size that you can upload is 4mb.

If you need to resize an image you can use software such as:

• Photoshop
• Paint
• Preview

There are also a number of web sites that have resizing tools:

• Pixlr web app
• Resize Your Image
• Resize My Picture

How do I upload files using MacOS or an iOS/iPadOS device?

MacOS and iOS/iPadOs devices save images and documents in file formats that the system does not support (e.g. photos in .HEIC o documents in .pages)

You will need to convert these images into a file format that is supported such as PDF.

Scan a document as a PDF using iOS/iPadiOS

If you need to photograph a physical copy of a piece of evidence, and your iOS/iPadOS and is up to date, you can use the Files app to scan this as a PDF which you can upload:

1. Tap < Files to open a side menu
2. Tap '...' on the top right of the menu
3. Select Scan Documents
4. Take a photo of your document
5. Select Keep Scan
6. Save the document on your device (note: you may need to create a new folder)

The document will now be saved as a PDF and will be avilable to upload.

Save a photo as a PDF using MacOS

1. Take a photo of your document
2. Open the photo you want to save as PDF
3. Select File > Print
4. From the menu select Save as PDF

The document will now be saved as a PDF and will be avilable to upload.

• xps 

Can I upload password-protected documents?

The document upload function does not support password-protected documents. Before uploading your document you will need to remove the password protection from it.

If you need to remove the password protection from a Word document or a PDF you can follow the guidance below:

• Remove password-protection from a Word document
• Remove password-protection from a PDF document

If you need to remove password-protection from a different document type you can search online for guidance on how to do it.

All types of evidence need to be:  

• Time-specific: The evidence must cover the period of time when you were affected by the situation. Evidence obtained a significant period after the situation is unlikely to be accepted.  Legible: Evidence must be legible and in English where possible. If your evidence is in a different language please provide a translation or description of what is contained within the document.  

• Sufficient: The most useful types of evidence are independent assessments from a relevant professional such as a doctor or counsellor. If you have registered with and attended the University's Student Counselling Service the service may be able to provide evidence for special circumstances. You can find a list of examples under item 6.2 of the Special Circumstances Policy on page four.  

• By a direct/indirect witness: The person providing evidence needs to have been in contact with you during or immediately after the time of the situation or can also be other University staff or third parties who directly witnessed the circumstances or the impact of the circumstances upon you. 

See here for more information on providing evidence:  

Special Circumstances Policy 2020/21  

What do I do next?

The ESC Team will review your evidence and provide a response within 5 working days, informing you if your request has been accepted.

You can track the decisions made by the ESC Team in your application dashboard.

Note: The final outcome decision for an approved special circumstance is taken by the Board of Examiners at the end of a semester. Once an outcome has been decided it will be displayed in your application dashboard.