Sunday 21-10-2018 - 10:59

This story is based on a real student who provided consent for their story to be shared but whose name was changed to protect their anonymity.

 

Lucy a 2^nd year, student from the School of Health and Life Sciences presented at the Advice Centre, in the Students' Association, requesting help with an application for Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances.  She had been resitting a module in Trimester 3, consisting of a placement and a reflective essay. During her placement she began to experience back and abdominal pain.  Lucy continued to complete the placement but towards the end of the month became increasingly concerned about her health issues. 

 

Following completion of her placement she returned to her home country and sought medical treatment.  Her essay was due on the 1^st of September and she completed and submitted it from overseas, however her health further deteriorated during this time.  Lucy underwent further medical treatment, experiencing stress and anxiety, and was unable to organise a Mitigating Circumstances application within the timeframe.

 

After meeting with the student the Student Adviser advised her of the process and communicated with her via e-mail to finalise her application form.  Once this was submitted the Adviser continued to support the student, keeping in touch with her as she found the wait for her outcome stressful.  When the Retrospective Mitigating Circumstances was accepted the Student Adviser had to explain the issues around the structure of her programme and resit.  Due to scholarship restrictions the student could not feasibly wait to re-sit her assignment before proceeding to the next level.  The Student Adviser helped the student communicate her situation and concerns effectively to her Programme Leader and continued to meet her during this stressful time.

 

Whilst this will not necessarily be the same outcome for every student, in this case the student was able to carry over her resit and proceed to level 3.  This meant that she was able to continue on the course and her scholarship.

The student said " I can't explain to you how I feel now but I am really happy and I would like to say thank you for your help and support I really appreciate that".

Find out more about our Advice Centre and the support that it offers.