Impaired Performance

The University’s Impaired Performance Policy and Procedures

(Departmental Guidance - STAFF ONLY ACCESS)

A Guide for Students

If you have experienced serious or acute problems or events beyond your control which have adversely affected your performance in an assessment, or have prevented you from completing an assessment, you may ask for your circumstances to be taken into account by the relevant Review or Programme Board by using the University’s Impaired Performance Procedure. This is commonly known as ‘making an impaired performance claim’.

This Guide gives you advice about:

1. What Constitutes an Eligible Claim?

It is to be expected that in the normal course of life a student will experience occasional illness and perhaps other problems or events that coincide with the completion of coursework assignments or preparation for written examinations. It is essential to recognise that these are part of the everyday frustrations of life and that it is normal to have to manage these while continuing with work or study. Such circumstances do not in themselves excuse failure or a poor performance and do not automatically provide grounds for an impaired performance claim.

You are expected to take responsibility for your own personal organisation, including managing your learning, coursework assignments and revision, in a way which anticipates that events will not always run smoothly.

The University will, however, take account of genuinely exceptional serious and acute problems or events that affect your performance in your assessments, and which you draw to its attention in a claim for impaired performance.

1.1 In this context, the following types of impaired performance claims are normally eligible for consideration:

  • Claims referring to a serious or significant medical condition or illness (to include both physical and mental health problems).
  • Claims referring to exceptional personal circumstances (e.g. serious illness or death of an immediate family member or close friend, including participation in funeral and associated rites; being a victim of crime).
  • Claims referring to exceptional travel circumstances beyond your control which prevented you from attending an examination or other scheduled assessment.

It is important that you keep your Personal Tutor fully informed of any difficulties at the time at which they occur. With early warning of a problem it may be possible for your School/Department to provide support which will make an impaired performance claim unnecessary.

Note that when you make an impaired performance claim you must also provide independent supporting evidence such as a medical certificate; a pro-forma from the Disabilities and Additional Needs Service (see 1.2); a copy of a death certificate; a police incident number notification; a letter of confirmation from your Personal Tutor, Hall Warden or other appropriate third party; a letter of confirmation from the Counselling Service; etc. Claims without such evidence will not normally be considered.

It is also important to note that GPs (general practitioners/medical doctors) are not obliged to issue medical certificates (particularly retrospectively), do not normally issue certificates for short periods of illness, and are entitled to charge for certificates issued. The Medical Centre will issue certificates for students, but normally only for cases where you have sought treatment at the time. It is not appropriate for you to suggest on your form that the University may approach your GP (general practitioner/medical doctor) for confirmation of a medical condition since medical records are confidential.

1.2 Claims referring to a long term illness or disability are not appropriate where adjustments or special arrangements (e.g. extra time in examinations) have already been made by your School/Department except where these arrangements prove inadequate on the day because of unforeseen circumstances.

If you are making a claim for impaired performance on the grounds of a disability (see definition at the end of this section), you are encouraged to contact the Disabilities and Additional Needs Service (DANS) before submitting their claim to the School/Department.  DANS will review and comment on your claim and provide a pro-forma to the School/Department indicating the degree of impairment that they, in their professional opinion, believe that you have experienced.  The pro-forma may also contain a recommendation to the Impaired Performance Panel/Programme Board.  Please note that the Impaired Performance Panel/Programme Board is not obliged to act on any recommendation contained within the pro-forma.  The pro-forma supplied by DANS will be used as supporting evidence in relation to your claim but only the Programme Board can make decisions regarding the outcome of a claim for impaired performance.

Definition of Disability for the purpose of seeking DANS support for a claim for Impaired Performance.

DANS will normally only support IP on the grounds of a formally identified disability as per the definitions outlined in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).  In line with this definition, DANS is willing to provide supporting evidence for:

  • students with a long term physical, sensory or cognitive impairment which has a substantial effect on their day to day life (e.g. dyslexia, visual/hearing impairment).
  • students with mental health conditions which are either episodic in nature, or of currently indeterminate length.  Under the DDA 2005 amendments, this need not be a clinically well recognised mental health condition
  • students with long term medical conditions (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis) from the point at which a diagnosis is made.  DANS would be willing to support students with medical conditions with a potential long term effect but where the prognosis is currently unclear.
  • students which are experiencing short-term acute mental distress (e.g. after a traumatic incident such as a bereavement) which is potentially affecting mental health where such students have previously sought support through DANS.

The above list is not exhaustive but is intended to provide guidance to students regarding whether or not it would be appropriate to seek DANS support for a claim for impaired performance.

DANS will NOT substantiate or verify claims relating to temporary conditions or illnesses (any form of temporary injury or illness which has not, or is not likely to, last a period of more than 12 months).

1.3 The following types of impaired performance claims are NOT normally eligible for consideration:

  • Claims without independent supporting evidence.
  • Claims which do not state clearly how your performance in your assessments has been affected.
  • Claims referring to ‘bunching’ of examinations or coursework deadlines.
  • Claims where your circumstances have already been fully catered for by the granting of a coursework extension.
  • Claims where the problem is caused by English being an additional language. You should seek advice in good time from the Student Support Centre.
  • Claims arising from poor time management or personal organisation (e.g. failure to plan for foreseeable last-minute emergencies such as computer crashes, printing problems or travel problems resulting in late submission of coursework; misreading the examination timetable).
  • Claims referring to circumstances within your control (e.g. family wedding or holiday; paid employment; getting a cheaper flight; choosing to miss an assessment or coursework deadline for something considered more important).
  • Claims referring to minor ailments such as colds, headaches, stomach upsets, etc., except where the ailment made it impossible for you to sit an examination or other scheduled assessment.
  • Claims referring to a long term illness or disability, where the School/Department has already made special arrangements for your assessments (or where such arrangements could have been made if the School/Department had been made aware of the problem at the proper time) except where these arrangements prove inadequate on the day because of unforeseen circumstances.
  • Claims referring to circumstances which were known to you prior to the date of your registration as a student.
  • Claims made after the published deadline for their receipt, except where your Department/School accepts that there is good cause for missing the deadline and makes a recommendation to the Academic Registrar. The Academic Registrar or nominee has the final say on whether or not the claim can be considered.

1.4 It is not possible to specify all conditions which may or may not constitute a valid claim, and the above are examples only. If you have exceptional personal commitments such as sporting or cultural activities at the highest level (normally representing your country) which are likely to impact upon your assessments, you should consult your School/Department for advice well in advance and not wait to submit an impaired performance claim after the event. Such commitments will normally be dealt with outside the impaired performance procedure.

 

2. How Do I Make a Claim?

2.1 You claim in each Semester for any affected assessments held in that Semester. You should also submit a separate claim in the Special Assessment Period (SAP) if you feel that you have a valid claim.

2.2 Obtain an Impaired Performance Claim form either from your School/Department (normally your Administrator), the Student Enquiries Desk in Rutland Building, or download the form using the link below:

2.3 Complete the form after the due dates of the assessments about which you wish to claim, and submit it (see 2.5 below) by the deadline stated on the form. For undergraduates there will be a separate deadline towards the end of each Semester: if your last assessment falls after the deadline for submission, you have two working days from the date of the assessment in which to submit. Postgraduates will need to consult their School/Department, as deadlines are governed by the dates of Review Boards and these may vary.

2.4 Follow carefully the instructions for completion given on the form. If any information is missing from the form your claim may not be eligible for consideration.

2.5 Return the completed form by the deadline for submission (as indicated on the form) to the Student Records and Examinations Office. The postal address is Rutland Building, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, or you can deliver it in person to the Student Enquiries Desk. The modules referred to in your claim will be logged on the University database and the form will then be forwarded to your School/Department where it will be collated with your independent supporting evidence before it is considered.

2.6 Give your independent supporting evidence directly to your School/Department (normally to your Administrator) as soon as possible after submitting your IP claim form. Do not delay submitting your form if you are waiting for your evidence from a third party, and make sure that any evidence due to come later is submitted in good time for it to be considered by your Review or Programme Board. Remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that your independent supporting evidence is given to your

2.7 If you are discovered to have made a fraudulent impaired performance claim or to have fabricated or falsified your independent supporting evidence, you may be subject to the University’s disciplinary procedures.

3. What Will Happen to My Claim?

Your claim will be dealt with by the University in confidence as far as possible, taking into account the need for appropriate staff to consider the circumstances described. Concerns relating to confidentiality will not normally be taken to constitute good cause for not submitting a timely IP claim.

Undergraduate Students:

Your claim will be considered by a School/Department's Impaired Performance Panel whose task is to consider all the claims received from students in the School/Department and recommend appropriate courses of action to the relevant Programme Board, all in accordance with set University guidelines. The Programme Board will make the final decision on your claim, also in accordance with the University’s guidelines. This procedure is designed to ensure consistency of treatment for all students on a degree programme, irrespective of the individual modules about which they are claiming.

Undergraduate Programme Boards meet at the end of each academic year and consider all claims made during the year, whether in Semester One or Semester Two.

Students on Taught Postgraduate Programmes:

Your claim will be considered by the relevant Review Board(s) which will decide on the appropriate course of action in accordance with University guidelines. Where necessary, the same procedure as for undergraduate Programme Boards will be followed when considering any claims drawn to the attention of the relevant Programme Board by individual Review Boards.

Postgraduate Review Boards normally meet at the end of each Semester, although they may meet at other times, and consider all claims made about the relevant individual module. Postgraduate Programme Boards meet following the completion of all meetings of the relevant Review Boards for that programme, and consider any claims drawn to their attention by those Review Boards.

4. What are the Possible Outcomes of My Claim?

When making its decision on each individual claim, the relevant Review or Programme Board will take into account both the content of the claim and your performance in other assessments, both impaired and unimpaired. It is important to note therefore that a decision on a particular claim cannot be predicted in advance, and that it may be the case that two apparently similar claims result in different outcomes.

4.1 The Board will reject any claims which do not meet the criteria for eligibility.

4.2 In cases where the evidence available to the Board leads it to conclude that a student’s performance has not been impaired, no further action will be taken.

4.3 In cases where the evidence available to the Board leads it to conclude that a student’s performance has been impaired, the range of remedies available to it includes:

  • The opportunity to take a missed assessment, or to re-take a severely impaired assessment, at a future date (normally in the September Special Assessment Period, but in the following academic year if more appropriate to the student’s individual circumstances).
  • A minor adjustment to the mark achieved (typically this will be an increase of 1% to 5% depending on the severity of circumstance).
  • The insertion of a coursework mark where a zero had been recorded in the first instance because the work was received after the published deadline.
  • The calculation of an overall coursework mark based on completed components where an assessment in an individual component has been missed.
  • The insertion of a mark derived from an alternative assessment where the original assessment was not completed.
  • The substitution of an alternative mark for the mark achieved, having reference to the student’s unimpaired marks in other assessments (including those from previous years).

While these are the remedies which a Board will normally employ, it may decide that other appropriate remedies are in a student’s best interests, given their individual circumstances.


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