Illness and Other Circumstances affecting Course Assessments and Exams

What should I do if I am ill or other difficulties affect my course assessments or exams?

If you have been ill or had other adverse circumstances which you believe may have affected your assessment – either your ability to take your assessment or submit it by the deadline, or your level of performance – this can be considered through our regulations on “Good Cause”.

If you want us to take such circumstances into account you MUST report your circumstances to the University through MyCampus, by submitting what is referred to as a Good Cause claim. This can be in relation to:

  • a missed exam
  • an online exam submitted late for which you wish to request waiver of the 'late' grade 'H'
  • a piece of coursework that you were unable to submit
  • any assessment in which you feel your performance has been significantly impaired
  • a piece of coursework for which you wish to request an extension to the submission deadline of more than five working days.

The Good Cause process is explained in the 'Key FAQs for Students'.

NOTE: A Good Cause claim will NEVER lead to your grades being increased. Exam Boards are not allowed to speculate about how much better you might have done in better circumstances.

Details on how to make a Good Cause claim are available at: https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_1035376_smxx.pdf.

Please remember that in your Good Cause claim you must explain clearly:

  • The illness or other adverse circumstances: you should include reference to the timing of the assessment and the duration of the relevant circumstances. 
  • How your ability to complete the specific assessment(s) was affected. For example, it is not sufficient to say in your Good Cause claim that you were unable to submit a piece of coursework because you were self-isolating. Many assessments can be completed using online resources, so you would be expected to explain how the requirement to self-isolate had prevented you from completing the work.