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Our support processes

A quick guide to the ways in which UCL can support your studies.

Support process:

Use this if:

What this covers:

Short-term Illness and other Extenuating Circumstances

You have a short-term illness, bereavement or other unexpected emergency.

Extenuating Circumstances’ (often know as ‘ECs’) are events which are sudden, unexpected, significantly disruptive and beyond your control and which may affect your performance at summative assessment, such as a serious illness or the death of a close relative. You can submit an Extenuating Circumstances claim to access ‘mitigation’ such as an extension or deferring an assessment to a later date. 

Reasonable Adjustments for Disabilities and Long-term Conditions

You have a disability or long-term physical or mental health condition.           

UCL can provide longer-term ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ to support your learning and assessment. This includes setting up a ‘SoRA’ (Summary of Reasonable Adjustments) with UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Academic Adjustments

You need long-term or ongoing support with one or more of the following:

  • You or your partner is pregnant or planning maternity, paternity or adoption leave
  • You are a parent or carer
  • You observe religious beliefs or cultural customs
  • You are affected by any form of harassment or discrimination
  • You are affected by traumatic world events such as war or terrorism
  • You are a critical worker (e.g. NHS staff).

Academic Adjustments include long-term reasonable adjustments arranged by your Department if you need additional support with learning, teaching and assessment.           

Exam Adjustments

You need additional support to sit an online or in-person exam.        

Exam Adjustments are specifically for Controlled Condition Exams and Take-Home Papers, and include adjustments such as extra time, rest breaks, a more comfortable chair and specialist equipment. These are available to students with a longer-term disability or health condition, and to students who need shorter-term support e.g. if you are pregnant, or have a broken arm.

Interruption of StudyYou are thinking of taking time out from your studies.Interruption of Study is for students who wish to take a break from their studies and return at a later date. You can take time out from your studies for a wide range of reasons - you might want to take up an internship or placement, take time out to travel, be planning to have children, or be facing personal challenges which are making it hard to study.
Support to StudyYou are having persistent or ongoing difficulties and UCL’s other support processes are not providing the right level of help.Support to Study aims to help you if you are having significant, persistent, longer-term difficulties and UCL’s normal mechanisms (e.g. Reasonable Adjustments, Extenuating Circumstances, Interruption of Study) are not providing enough support. We will work with you to put together a Support Plan to help you get the most out of your studies.