Diary of an Education Officer
Entry 03
19 December 2025

If you haven't come across them before, Individual Mitigating Circumstances (IMCs) are conditions which temporarily prevent a student from undertaking an assessment or significantly impair their performance in that assessment – students can submit an IMC if they experience such circumstances; more info can be found on the University website.

IMCs are one of the areas I came into this role super keen to work on. I’ve seen firsthand – and continue to hear from students – how stressful and inaccessible the process has felt, particularly around things like evidence. HOWEVER !! Recently, I had the opportunity to work with the university on the IMC policy, and got to feed into some of the new guidance; this was about reducing unnecessary barriers, and making the process clearer and more compassionate. These updates are now officially live, and with the winter assessment period approaching, I wanted to share the key changes with you, and explain what they actually mean in practice!

1. Evidence requirements

The wording in the policy has changed from:

“IMC claims require evidence”

to:

“Depending on the nature of the claim, the University may require evidence.”

In practice, the new approach is:

• If you have evidence, you should submit it.
• If your claim is more complex, you may be asked to provide evidence.
• If you don’t have evidence, but something significant happened, you should still submit an IMC.

Your written statement is a form of evidence, and students shouldn’t be discouraged from applying just because they don’t have documents.

2. Clearer IMC deadlines for exams

Previously, deadlines for submitting an IMC for exams were… not very clear! So this has now been updated.

For exams taken during Assessment Periods, there are now set deadlines published on the University website. This means the deadline is now the same regardless of whether you’re submitting a claim for one or multiple exams. The dates for the 2025/26 academic year are:

• Semester 1: 28 January 2026
• Semester 2: 3 June 2026
• Summer Supplementary Assessment: 4 September 2026

Hopefully, this makes the process much clearer and less stressful.

Just be aware that this is only for exams in Assessment Periods. For all other assessments, e.g. coursework, you still need to submit your claim within three working days of the affected deadline!

3. Late IMCs

There is now clear guidance on when late IMCs may be considered. The policy states:

“A claim for individual mitigating circumstances submitted after the appropriate deadline may exceptionally be considered where a student could not reasonably be expected to submit on time. This is at the discretion of the University. Claims must in all cases be submitted in time for consideration by the appropriate Boards of Examiners.”

In practice, this means:

• You should always try to submit an IMC before the deadline if you can.
• However, if something genuinely prevents you from doing so – for example hospitalisation, or disability-related barriers – the panel may still decide to consider your claim.

This gives more flexibility in situations where meeting a deadline just isn’t realistic.

4. Translation of evidence

The wording around translated evidence has also been updated. It has changed from:

“If your evidence was not originally produced in English, then an official translation must be provided.”

to:

“If your evidence was not originally produced in English, then an official translation may be required.”

This means that students may still be asked to provide a translation, but it is no longer an automatic requirement in every case. Hopefully, this helps reduce unnecessary barriers and costs for students!

While these changes are important and really positive to see, they’re not the end of the conversation... There is a lot of work still going on behind the scenes!

Good luck with revision, and take care of yourselves <3

With love,
Helen xoxo