Late coursework & extension requests
Advice on what to do if you think you may miss a coursework deadline, and the School of Informatics policy on coursework deadlines, which applies across all taught courses.
Late submission of coursework
You should submit assessed coursework by the published deadline. In general, you are expected to plan your time well and include contingency time. For example, if you expect a piece of work to take two days, you should begin it more than two days before its deadline.
However, we recognise that there are sometimes good reasons to submit coursework late. Each piece of coursework has a late submission rule, which tells you whether you can submit it late or not, the penalty for submitting late, the maximum length of extension, and other important information. You should find which late submission rule applies to a piece of coursework on the Course Learn Ultra Page. Full details of all the rules used in Informatics are listed in the policy below.
If there are circumstances that affect your ability to complete your coursework on time, and where late submissions are allowed, you can apply for an extension to avoid incurring a late penalty. To request an extension for a piece of coursework, use the online Assessment Support Tool to make the request to the University Extensions and Special Circumstances Service (ESC) team. The ESC team will assess your request and let you know if your request has been accepted. It can take the ESC team several days to let you know their decision, so you should apply for an extension as soon as you think you may need one.
If you are registered with the Disability & Learning Support Service and have learning adjustments for extra time on coursework or assessments, you can request to apply an extra time adjustment to pieces of coursework that allow late submissions. If you have learning adjustments for extra time in exams, we will apply these to timed Class Tests without you having to ask.
Apply for an extra time adjustment
If there are circumstances preventing you from submitting your work within the permitted time, you will need to apply for Special Circumstances. Please contact your Student Adviser or the Student Support Team for more information.
Contact the Student Support Team
School of Informatics Late Submission Rules and Penalties Policy
The following sets of late submission rules and penalties apply to courses and in some cases individual assessments covering Extensions, Extra Time Adjustments (ETA, a Learning Adjustment permitting an extension on request) and late penalties. They are aligned to the University Taught Assessment Regulations, Extensions and Special Circumstances Service (ESC) and Special Circumstances Policy.
Course Organisers choose which rule and corresponding late penalty to use for individual and group work assessments and must include this information on the Course Learn Ultra Page for student reference. Course Organisers must inform the ITO of course late submission rules and penalties in advance of the start of the course. This information is maintained in EUCLID APT (Assessment and Progression Tool) for use by the University’s Extensions and Special Circumstances (ESC) Service.
The raw marks for submission are found in the submission and marking system (e.g. Learn, Gradescope, Turnitin). Course organisers provide these raw marks without penalty to ITO for entry/upload into EUCLID APT. Late penalties are applied by ITO as part of mark processing according to each rule. The marks shown in EUCLID have the penalties applied; EUCLID is the official University channel for students to receive their marks.
Penalty: If assessed coursework with a numerical mark is submitted late without an approved extension, it will be recorded as late and a penalty of 5% per calendar day will be applied for up to 7 calendar days from the original deadline, after which a mark of zero will be given. If Pass/Fail assessed coursework is submitted late without an approved extension, it will be recorded as late and will be graded as a Fail.
Application of Rule 1
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To be used for single assessments worth at least 10% of the overall course mark.
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7 days of extra time for submission (ETS) and 7 days extra time for proofreader (ETP) are possible.
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Extra time granted via extensions and both types of ETA can be combined so the maximum extension possible is 17 days where both types of ETA plus an extension are approved.
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For electronic submissions, the last version that has been submitted will be marked.
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For example, where the deadline is 12:00 UK time, the extended deadline will be 12:00 UK time 3 calendar days from the original deadline. If the student submits between 3 and 4 days from the original deadline, a penalty of 5% will be applied.
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If a student with an approved extension submits more than 7 calendar days from the original deadline, a mark of zero will be given.
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If a student with an approved ETS extension submits more than 7 calendar days from the original deadline, a mark of zero will be given.
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If a student with an approved extension plus either ETS or ETP submits more than 10 calendar days from the original deadline, a mark of zero will be given.
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If a student with an approved extension plus both ETS and ETP submits late more than 17 calendar days from the original deadline, a mark of zero will be given.
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In a group assessment, if one student in a group has circumstances that affect their ability to complete your coursework on time:
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The affected student should:
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apply for an extension
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inform the other members of your group about the new deadline
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inform the ITO that your group has an extension, and about the names/IDs of students in your group.
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Once the extension for the affected student is approved, the rest of the group can also apply. Applications from the rest of the group should contain the following information:
- the affected studet’s name or application number
- a short explanation of the circumstances
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Please note that each team member must apply separately before the original assessment deadline.
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If there are circumstances preventing you from submitting your work within the permitted time, you will need to apply for Special Circumstances. Please contact your Student Adviser or the Student Support Team for more information.
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Marks are expected to be returned to students within 28 calendar days of the original submission deadline.
Summary of penalties for rule 1
| Days after original deadline | 0-1 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 5-6 | 6-7 | 7-10 | 10+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penalty for student with no approved extension or ETS | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% | 30% | 35% |
Zero mark |
Zero mark |
| Penalty for student with approved extension | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% |
Zero mark |
Zero mark |
| Penalty for student with ETS | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Zero mark | Zero mark |
| Penalty for student with approved extension + ETS | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | Zero mark |
Penalty: If assessed coursework is submitted late, it will be recorded as late and a mark of zero will be given.
Application of Rule 2
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Only to be used for continuous assessment, individual assessments worth ≤10% of the overall course mark or timed Class Tests.
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For electronic submissions, the last version that has been submitted will be marked.
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If there are circumstances preventing you from submitting your work within the permitted time, you will need to apply for Special circumstances. Please contact your Student Adviser or the Student Support Team for more information.
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Marks are expected to be returned to students within 14 calendar days of the submission deadline.
Penalty: If assessed coursework is submitted late without an approved extension or ETS, it will be recorded as late and a penalty of 5% per calendar day will be applied up to the specified number of calendar days (up to 7 days maximum) from the original deadline, after which a mark of zero will be given. If Pass/Fail assessed coursework is submitted late without an approved extension, it will be recorded as late and will be graded as a Fail.
Application of Rule 3
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To be used for assessments where feedback is required to proceed to the next assignment.
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Extensions and Extra Time for Submission (ETS) extensions are permitted.
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The course organiser will not give class feedback within 7 calendar days of the original deadline, but is free to do so afterwards. For electronic submissions, the last version that has been submitted will be marked.
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For example, where the deadline is 12:00 UK time:
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The extended deadline will be 12:00 UK time 3 calendar days from the original deadline.
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If the student with an approved extension submits between 3 and 4 days from the original deadline, a penalty of 5% will be applied.
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If a student with an approved extension submits more than 7 calendar days from the original deadline, a mark of zero will be given.
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If a student with an approved ETS extension submits more than 7 calendar days from the original deadline, a mark of zero will be given.
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If a student with an approved extension plus ETS extension submits more than 7 calendar days from the original deadline, a mark of zero will be given.
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In a group assessment, if one student in a group has circumstances that affect their ability to complete your coursework on time:
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The affected student should:
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apply for an extension
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inform the other members of your group about the new deadline
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inform the ITO that your group has an extension, and about the names/IDs of students in your group.
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Once the extension for the affected student is approved, the rest of the group can also apply. Applications from the rest of the group should contain the following information:
- the affected studet’s name or application number
- a short explanation of the circumstances
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Please note that each team member must apply separately before the original assessment deadline.
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If there are circumstances preventing you from submitting your work within the permitted time, you will need to apply for Special circumstances. Please contact your Student Adviser or the Student Support Team for more information.
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Marks are expected to be returned to students within 21 calendar days of the original submission deadline.
Summary of penalties for rule 3
| Days after original deadline | 0-1 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 5-6 | 6-7 | 7+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penalty for student with no approved extension or ETS | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% | 30% | 35% |
Zero mark |
| Penalty for student with approved extension | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% |
Zero mark |
| Penalty for student with ETS | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 10% | 15% | Zero mark |
| Penalty for student with approved extension + ETS | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Zero mark |
Policy history
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The June 2017 Teaching Committee was called specifically to discuss potential changes to the late coursework policy, including the adoption of late penalties on a daily basis - 5% per day as stated in the Taught Assessment Regulations to replace the preceding School policy of awarding zero for all late submissions without an approved extension or Extra Time Adjustment (ETA).
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This policy was reviewed and updated by Teaching Executive in September 2021, to reflect changes in the University’s extensions and special circumstances policy.
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This policy was last reviewed and updated by Teaching Executive in August 2022. Major changes include:
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The application of rule 2 to is individual assessments worth ≤10% of the overall course mark or timed Class Tests is now mandatory rather than guidance. The use of rule 1 and rule 3 has been clarified.
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Expected mark return dates have been added.
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Rather than marking the first submission before the deadline, we mark the latest submission submitted, to be more compatible with submission systems now used.
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This policy was last reviewed and updated by Teaching Executive in August 2023 in response to College of Science and Engineering Policy. Major changes include:
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In Rule 1, the extension length is now 3 days.
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In Rule 3, extensions and extra time for submission can now combine, reflecting changes in the ESC system
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In Rule 3, the maximum extension and extra time for submission is 3 days, meaning that the very latest work can be submitted without penalty is 3 days with a 3 day extension and 4 days extra time for submission.
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